Faith Comes By Hearing The Word Of God

We all need faith to rise up within us during adversity.

Hebrews 11:6

(MSG)

It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

So we need to trust God even when we don’t have any clue to the outcome of the trouble we face.

Romans 10:14-17

(MSG)

But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,

A sight to take your breath away!

Grand processions of people

          telling all the good things of God!

But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.

There are times we don’t know the correct Word to pray in a given situation and the Holy Spirit prays for us when we pray in tongues.

Romans 8:26-28

(MSG)

26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

We need to listen to our tongues, for it is the Word of God just as much as the Bible is – the Word of The Spirit – the Word of Truth, and we will be built up, charged up by the Holy Spirit within. Even if we utter just one or two words in tongues – they come from the Spirit and are the correct Word needed to pray on our behalf! How dare we think we can pray the correct prayer with our understanding!

The Message Bible (MSG)—Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995 by Eugene H. Peterson